**Fantasy Becomes Reality** Group--5/19/2012 (INDEX/ROLE CALL, PAGE 1--ENTRY 1)

[babycrnp]

We would like to be added to the Roll Call!

***Roll Call***
DIS Name: Kimistry6
Names - Age(s)/Genders: Kim-40/F, Larry-42/M, Matthew-8/M, Nicholas-5/M
From: Tennessee
Stateroom(s):7548
Celebration(s):2nd Cruise
Dining (Main or Late):Late
Show Time: No idea
Partipate in FE: maybe

We just went on our first cruise May 29, on the Disney Dream. We really loved it but did not book on board. I regretted losing the 10% discount. I kept saying "if only we had booked onboard". Then last week we got a 10% off pin for a DCL cruise if booked by 8/2/11. I immediately jumped on it and we booked right away!! So here we are. I was involved in our previous cruise thread but we didn't participate in the FE. So, I will have to think on this for a bit.

I look forward to this next 10 months and getting to know everyone!

Hello friend! We were on that same cruise last May We booked on board but wasn't sure we were keeping this date until this week. See you on board!!

 

[JohnPA]

Here's what I think about the FE Exchange. We're already at 26 cabins and still have a couple of months before we'll close the FE list. I agree with the feeling that we're already at the point where trying to provide goodies for all the other staterooms will be not only a financial burden, but just logistical. Some folks would need a separate suitcase just for FE gifts.

I'm looking now at how to split the list. We could just put all stateroom numbers in a hat and pull half out. That would probably be the easiest. I was also thinking that maybe we could split by deck number - one list of even decks, and one list of odd decks. Any fine tuning could be done later to even up the staterooms.

For planning, you can at least plan on only half the number of staterooms. We'll know how many adults/children when we do the final splitting. And of course, if you want to provide gifts for ALL the staterooms, no one will complain, I'm sure!

Now to just get this cruise PAID FOR!

I'm open to any and all comments on the FE List splitting.

 

[kimistry6]

Hello friend! We were on that same cruise last May We booked on board but wasn't sure we were keeping this date until this week. See you on board!!

Hello!!! I'm so glad you decided to keep this cruise date! We are getting super excited about it. Everyday my youngest (5) asks if we are going on the cruise today. Can't wait to see everyone.

 

[dlf246]

Will we know about the Itinerary before we are able to start booking Remy and Palo in February? Just curious. I am always afraid I am going to book on Pirate Night or one of the new show nights so we have not ever booked. We have dined at Palo for brunch but I was not impressed and know I would love it at night! Once you get details will you let me know? Thanks!

Welcome to the cruise! Below hopefully will be a pic of the itinerary for eastern carib on Magic. You substitute Royal Palace for Lumiere's. There will be 2 new shows (Aladdin and .... forgot other) which I assume will replace Twice Charmed and ?

Hope this helps as a GUESS!

 

[donaldsgal]

Hi everyone!

Welcome to the newcomers!

I haven't posted in ages, but I'm still here! Now that Christmas is past us, we're looking ahead to the cruise. My niece (6) keeps asking if she can start packing for the cruise. If only it was close enough to pack... but then again, I enjoy the anticipation, too!

JohnPA, can you please add us to the FE list? I am still overwhelmed by the idea of it, but we want to participate. We may drop out (when the final decisions are due), but we'd like to do it. It's really a matter of finding what we want to give, getting the actual fish extender, and letting go of my perfectionism to find the "perfect gift." I like the idea of having to roam the entire ship to find the staterooms (it's a good excuse to explore), so, if we do split the group, I'd prefer we draw names out of a hat like you suggested, JohnPA. Good idea!

Regarding shore excursions, have any of you figured out what you want to do? We've got a few ideas in mind. At Castway Cay, we'll probably rent the four-person paddle boats. The water trikes look fun, but the three of us in our group (DSis, DNiece, and I) can't do them together, so that's probably out. I've always wanted to go the Trunk Bay on St. John (supposed to be one of the 10 ten beaches in the Caribbean (if not the entire world), so we'll probably do the Disney excursion over there. We've thought about doing it on our own, but we're a bit nervous doing it in our own in case we get held up and can't get back in time! We'd also like to do the Skyway on St. Thomas, but I'm not sure we'll have time to do both that and the trip over to St. John. On St. Maarten, we're thinking of doing the Golden Eagle Catamaran or something on our own. It's hard to find excursions that accommodate a 6-year-old and aren't just tours of the city. We'd love to take my niece parasailing, but we can't do that on Castaway Cay (they require children to be 8 or older). If we can find a reputable local operator that we could use to go parasailing and take my niece, we'd like to do that. I have to do some research on that option. Does anyone else know what they're doing?

Hopefully I'll be more consistent with posting now that the holidays have past. It's the doldrums of winter in Ohio now (though we're only just now getting consistently cold with snow), so thinking about the Caribbean is a good escape! Happy New Year to you all!

Oh, and thanks for posting the slated schedule, dlf246. I know it's just a guess, but we also like to know how to plan for meals at Remy and Palo.

 

[donaldsgal]

Welcome to the cruise! Below hopefully will be a pic of the itinerary for eastern carib on Magic. You substitute Royal Palace for Lumiere's. There will be 2 new shows (Aladdin and .... forgot other) which I assume will replace Twice Charmed and ?

Hope this helps as a GUESS!

Also... where'd you get this? It's a great overview because it includes the meals, shows, AND the family stuff. Very cool! Also, the other new show is Wishes, based on DCL's website.

 

[biff423]

Regarding the schedule - I had recently contacted our travel agent about this because we are wanting to book Remy but don't want to miss the new shows. Here was the response I got:

"Disney said that they have not made any current changes to the schedule listed below for the Eastern Caribbean sailing, but they may in the future. Unfortunately, there isn’t away to know in advance if they will keep the same schedule, but as of now, there are no current changes.

Main seating on the Disney cruise ships is at 5:45 pm and Second seating is at 8:15 pm. On the Dream's Caribbean and Bahamian sailings, your dinner seating time determines which evening show you will have tickets for. If you have Main dining, you will have tickets to the 8:30 show. Second dining will have tickets to the 6:15 show.

Disney Eastern Caribbean:
Night, Port, Dress Code
Saturday, Port Canaveral, Casual
Sunday, Day at Sea, Formal
Monday, Day at Sea, Casual
Tuesday, St. Maarten, Pirate Theme
Wednesday, St. Thomas, Casual
Thursday, Day at Sea, Semi-Formal
Friday, Castaway Cay, Casual
​

Disney said that unfortunately they do not have a specific show schedule for each night; they said that info will be listed on your Personal Navigator."

So I think we will know so much more when they start sailing in Late March - but I know that doesn't help those folks that can book now or in the neat future.

 

[5Dreamers]

We wish everyone much health and happiness for 2012!

For the FE exchange, if the group spilts, we'll still give to all, so it doesn't matter to us how or if the split is done. This is our first cruise and we are excited to participate in the FE We're flying with Southwest, so we don't have to pay any baggage fees for the extra bag.

For excursions, the only one we are considering is taking Bernards tours on St.Maartin. They seem to get good reviews and offer all the stuff we want to do in one tour (see the island, see the planes on Maho beach, some beach time at Orient Beach, a bit of shopping, etc) It's $40 per person, and from what I've read, you reserve ahead of time but don't actually pay till you get there. Has anyone here used them before?

We also want to book Palo, but have no idea how to figure out what day/night is best. I don't want to miss any of the live shows, or anything important, so I'm clueless. I was wanting to try the dinner, but will do the brunch if dinner doesn't work out.

Also, I have 3x$20 USD codes for Shutterfly(dot)com that we received with the kids school photos. The codes expire Jan.31st, 2012. I won't be using them because of the shipping/tax charges for Canadians. The fine print says it is not redeemable for cash and cannot be combined with other offers.
I haven't used the PM function yet on here, but if someone could actually use these, please send me a PM and I'll give you the code(s). If more than one person is interested, I'll give the first 3 people one of the $20 codes.

It's snowing here right now and I'm dreaming of warmer days!

 

[babycrnp]

Welcome to the cruise! Below hopefully will be a pic of the itinerary for eastern carib on Magic. You substitute Royal Palace for Lumiere's. There will be 2 new shows (Aladdin and .... forgot other) which I assume will replace Twice Charmed and ?

Hope this helps as a GUESS!

WOW!!!!!!
Thank you so much!! This at least gives me some kind of idea

 

[babycrnp]

Hi everyone!


JohnPA, can you please add us to the FE list? I am still overwhelmed by the idea of it, but we want to participate. We may drop out (when the final decisions are due), but we'd like to do it. It's really a matter of finding what we want to give, getting the actual fish extender, and letting go of my perfectionism to find the "perfect gift." I like the idea of having to roam the entire ship to find the staterooms (it's a good excuse to explore), so, if we do split the group, I'd prefer we draw names out of a hat like you suggested, JohnPA. Good idea!

Regarding shore excursions, have any of you figured out what you want to do? We've got a few ideas in mind. At Castway Cay, we'll probably rent the four-person paddle boats. The water trikes look fun, but the three of us in our group (DSis, DNiece, and I) can't do them together, so that's probably out. I've always wanted to go the Trunk Bay on St. John (supposed to be one of the 10 ten beaches in the Caribbean (if not the entire world), so we'll probably do the Disney excursion over there. We've thought about doing it on our own, but we're a bit nervous doing it in our own in case we get held up and can't get back in time! We'd also like to do the Skyway on St. Thomas, but I'm not sure we'll have time to do both that and the trip over to St. John. On St. Maarten, we're thinking of doing the Golden Eagle Catamaran or something on our own. It's hard to find excursions that accommodate a 6-year-old and aren't just tours of the city. We'd love to take my niece parasailing, but we can't do that on Castaway Cay (they require children to be 8 or older). If we can find a reputable local operator that we could use to go parasailing and take my niece, we'd like to do that. I have to do some research on that option. Does anyone else know what they're doing?

You will not regret being a part of the FE

Thanks for the information about the islands! I have not had a chance to do any research about them and we have never been to any of them! I need to get busy

 

[babycrnp]

We wish everyone much health and happiness for 2012!

For the FE exchange, if the group spilts, we'll still give to all, so it doesn't matter to us how or if the split is done. This is our first cruise and we are excited to participate in the FE We're flying with Southwest, so we don't have to pay any baggage fees for the extra bag.

For excursions, the only one we are considering is taking Bernards tours on St.Maartin. They seem to get good reviews and offer all the stuff we want to do in one tour (see the island, see the planes on Maho beach, some beach time at Orient Beach, a bit of shopping, etc) It's $40 per person, and from what I've read, you reserve ahead of time but don't actually pay till you get there. Has anyone here used them before?


Also, I have 3x$20 USD codes for Shutterfly(dot)com that we received with the kids school photos. The codes expire Jan.31st, 2012. I won't be using them because of the shipping/tax charges for Canadians. The fine print says it is not redeemable for cash and cannot be combined with other offers.
I haven't used the PM function yet on here, but if someone could actually use these, please send me a PM and I'll give you the code(s). If more than one person is interested, I'll give the first 3 people one of the $20 codes.

It's snowing here right now and I'm dreaming of warmer days!

I'm with you, we will likely give to all the staterooms but I am glad JohnPA decided to split in case someone is holding out due to expense. It is so much fun I use Shutterfly all the time, I would love one of the codes if you don't mind, thank you so much!!!
It's not snowing in Alabama but it's in the 40's and to us Southerner's, that's COLD!!!

 

[barbreis]

Hi everyone! I hope the holidays were good for all. I'm still thinking on my fe gifts and fe (I'm not overly crafty) - don't know yet if 26 cabins will be too much. Mine will be one per cabin, non-age or gender specific. Just had to pass along a funny - my horoscope today said to incorporate a fantasy theme into my next adventure. I guess this means we'll be having a great time.

 

[sues14]

I everyone! I'm sorry that we have not been our Disney selfs as of late. We have just had so much on our plate. I look to 2012 to be a year of great things, I am getting excited about the float out! Jan 7 th seems so far off lol! I can't wait. How many days till the cruise?! I so want to be in the sun! I'm down 110 lbs since June, I have not budged since thanksgiving! Must be the holidays. Any who I just wanted to say hi!

 

[5Dreamers]

I use Shutterfly all the time, I would love one of the codes if you don't mind, thank you so much!!!

I sent you a PM, hope it worked!

 

[5Dreamers]

I everyone! I'm sorry that we have not been our Disney selfs as of late. We have just had so much on our plate. I look to 2012 to be a year of great things, I am getting excited about the float out! Jan 7 th seems so far off lol! I can't wait. How many days till the cruise?! I so want to be in the sun! I'm down 110 lbs since June, I have not budged since thanksgiving! Must be the holidays. Any who I just wanted to say hi!

It's always so good to hear from you!
Wow, 110lbs, that's incredible! Holidays are absolutely the hardest times of the year, routines are off, extra meals and desserts. Hang in there!
My DH checks the Fantasy daily on the builder's website, he is also anxious for the float out. He's been watching the GPS location they've now got on it. (He actually keeps track of how many SECONDS till we go!!)

4 1/2 months seems so close (from when we brooked), yet still so far away ...

 

[dlf246]

Also... where'd you get this? It's a great overview because it includes the meals, shows, AND the family stuff. Very cool! Also, the other new show is Wishes, based on DCL's website.

From TOO much time reading the Dis Board!!! Can't remember who posted anymore...

 

[biff423]

Was messing around with a couple graphics to use in my signature - let me know your thoughts.

 

[bwcb4]

Was messing around with a couple graphics to use in my signature - let me know your thoughts.

For the one that shows the whole ship.....can you find a pic of the DREAM to use so the shape would be more like what the FANTASY will look like? And have the Aqua-Duck showing.

Barb

 

[DizDaddy]

Hi! We have CONFIRMED our reservations on the cruise!! I was reading over the last several (20 or so) pages and getting so excited!! I have sent messages to the wonderful organizers in our group DizDaddy and JohnPA. A huge thank you for organizing the Roll Call and FE lists!

Last year we were on the Dream and it was about 50 cabins that participated. I did take another small suitcase to get all the gifts there but it was more than well worth it. We have been on other cruises but last year was the first time we participated in the FE. It was a wonderful experience! My girls really enjoyed passing out our gifts and my goodness, from the smallest to the most extravagant gifts we recieved, it was a very fun experience. My girls (8 and 11 years old) would fly down the hallway to check and see what we had in our FE and check first thing every morning and last thing every night. It was so much fun to watch them and be so excited! It was one of the highlights of the trip.

I am so glad we finally made up our minds we are definitely going on this cruise. I can't wait!! Looking forward to meeting all of you I will go ahead and say I am a HUGE Alabama fan...ROLL TIDE ROLL!! and my husband is a HUGE Auburn fan (along with my 2 daughters). We are definitely a house divided. So try not to hold it against us, lol!

I hope every one had a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Well, folks, let's roll out the official WELCOME!!! I've added you to the roll call on page one.

 

[DizDaddy]

New pics of the Fantasy....

For those of you that do not follow a DisBoard thread called 'Building of the Fantasy Continues...', following is a link to some pics of the Fantasy in the shipyard that are just amazing. The Dis-user is 'andreasde', and he will be taking picks of the float out in JUST 4 MORE DAYS....

Take a look....you'll be glad you did:

http://www.depping-design.de/test/displayimage.php?album=197&pos=0